Measuring valve



Nov. l1, 1952 E. w. DAvls 2,617,496

MEASURING VALVE Original Filed Feb. 15, 1946 Patented Nev. 11, 1952 MEASURING VALVE Ernest W. Davis, River Forest, Ill.

Original application February 15, 1946, Serial No. 647,871. Divided and this application November 13, 1947, Serial No. 785,704 Y 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to measuring valves for use in centralized lubricating systems for discharging a measured quantity of lubricant to a bearing served thereby, and more particularly to such a valve having improved means for conditioning the same for a new feeding operation after each feeding operation of the system has been completed.

In the centralized lubricating system now in use separate feeder valves are connected to each bearing for discharging a predetermined quantity of lubricant thereto in each complete cycle of operation of the system, and these separate feeder or measuring valves are connected by conduits or a system of piping conveying lubricant to the separate valves in succession. To secure proper operation of the system it is essential that the measuring Valves be automatically conditioned for a new feeding operation upon the completion of each feeding operation.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a measuring valve for a centralized lubricating system including improved means for automatically returning the parts of the valve to the initial position after each feeding operation is completed so that the system is always conditioned for another operation upon relief of pressure in the system.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved measuring valve for use in a centralized lubricating system which is of simplied and compact construction so that it is economical to manufacture and will function for long periods of time without breakdown.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved measuring valve that may be readily installed in present centralized lubricating systems and which may be made in various sizes to serve bearings of different lubrication requirements. f

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying single figure showing three valves, constructed inV accordance with the present invention, connected in series and each at a different stage of operation.

The present application is a division of my copending application, now abandoned, Serial No. 647,871, filed February 15, 1946, and entitled Lubricating Apparatus.

The measuring valve described hereinafter is particularly adapted for use in a centralized lubricating system of the type described and claimed in that application` I 2 For convenience in describing the operation of the valves of the present invention, the three valves shown in the drawing have been numbered 2 and 3. Valve I is shown at the end of its discharge or feeding stroke, valve 2 at a point midway of the discharge stroke, and valve 3 in the initial position. Each of these measuring valves includes a body having a cylinder formed therein. Lubricant under pressure is admitted to one end of the cylinder 60 through an inlet port |00 and the cylinder also has an outlet port |02 intermediate its ends which is connected to the inlet port of the next measuring valve in the system by a conduit. As indicated in the drawing, the inlet port |00 of valve is connected to a source of lubricant under pressure by a` conduit 36 which forms part of the piping of the centralized lubricating system in which the valves are installed. The outlet port |02 of valve I is connected to the inlet port |00 of valve 2 by conduit 31. In a similar manner each of the measuring valves in the system is connected to the succeeding valve by a pipe or conduitrunning from the outlet port |02 of that valve to the inlet port |00 of the succeeding valve until the last valve is reached. Its outlet port |02 is connected to the reservoir or the like from which lubricant under pressure is supplied to the system.

The cylinder 60 formed in the valve body is closed at its lower end by a base 66 threaded on the valve body and provided with a reduced threaded stem 68 which may be secured in a passage 10 leading to the bearing to be lubricated as by threading the same therein. A stop pad 64 is positioned in the bottom of the base 86 and the stem 68 is provided with a lubricant passage 'l2 communicating with the lower end of cylinder 60 through an aperture in pad 64 and with the passage l0. A check valve 14 seated by a spring 16 is provided in the passage 12 to prevent return of lubricant to the cylinder 60.

Slidably disposed within this cylinder is a hollow piston 62 which has a head closing the upper end thereof and a skirt, the lower edge of which engages stop pad 64 to limit movement of the piston in a downward or discharging direction. A port 'F8 in the head of piston 62 communicates with the inlet side of the cylinder 60.

Communication through this port is controlled by valve means formed with a head having a stern 82 which is anchored in a recess in a' cylindrical body member 811. The cylindrical body member 84 has a-helical passage 86 formed in the -walls ofthe recess receiving the stemxllZ,`

so that the passage 86 is coaxial with the stem and coiled thereabout. At its upper end the passage communicates with the inlet side of the cylinder 60 through the port 18 in the head of the piston while the lower end of the passage 86 communicates with the discharge side of the cylinder through a lateral port 38.

The Valve means above described is iloatingly carried in the piston 62 by lost motion means including a hollow sleeve 92 movable in the piston 62. This sleeve has a head at its upper end formed by the inturned peripheral edges of the sleeve, and this head is provided with an annular abutment or shoulder 94 and a downwardly offset peripheral flange 96. The cylindrical body member 84 has a peripheral shoulder 85 adjacent its upper end which seats upon the ilange 96 of the sleeve for supporting the valve means upon the sleeve.

Lost motion between the sleeve S2 and piston 62 is taken up by a coil spring Silwhich reacts between the discharge end of cylinder 62 and the head of sleeve 92 so that the sleeve is urged upwardly in the piston and moves valve 80 in a direction to open bypass port 18 in the head of the piston. When the sleeve has been raised far enough for its head 92 to engage the underside or" the head of piston 62 the biasing force of the spring will be applied to the piston and urge the latter upwardly, thus carrying the valve 8i) toward the inlet port itil. Upward movement of the piston and valve is limited by engagement of van upwardly facing conical surface 9S on the valve 36 in the inlet port |69, thus closing this port, while the port 78 in the head of the piston remains open, which position of the parts is shown in valve 3. This is the normal or initial position of the valveand they will all assume this position in the absence of pressure in the system.

For the purpose of describing the operation of the valve it will be assumed that all of the valves in the system are in the initial position shown in valve 3. When lubricant under a pressure of, for example 1,000 lbs. per sq, in., is supplied to this system by a compressor through the conduit 36, the conical portion 98 of the valve 86 seated in the inlet port |66 of valve I will be forced from its seat admitting lubricant to the upper end of cylinder 60. Thereupon the pressure of the lubricant will be applied to the entire area of the head of piston 62. The space below this head is lled with lubricant from the previous operation of the valve and the lubricant under high pressure acting on the entire area of the head of the piston 62 will force the piston downwardly, thus forcing the lubricant therebelcw past check valve la and to the bearing. Downward movement of the piston is arrested when its lower end engages the stop pad 64. The full pressure or" the lubricant is then applied to the upper end of the valve 8S, cylindrical member 84, and sleeve 92, depressing the same against the pressure of spring Sie until the lower tapered unseat this valve until measuring valve l hasv completed its discharge stro-ke and the pressure again builds up in the system. Thereupon valve 2 will be actuated to discharge a measured quantity of lubricant to its associated bearing. In the same manner each of the valves in the system will be operated,

After the last valve in the system has operated, and the pressure is relieved by discontinuing operation of the compressor connected thereto', the valves will automatically return to their initial position progressively and in reverse order to the order in which they were discharged. Beginning with the last measuring valve in the system, its spring 98 acting upon the sleeve 92 will cause the latter to rise until its annular shoulder 94 engages the underside of the head of piston S2, thus raising the valve B and opening port 'E8 in the head of the piston. This action is assured because the eiective area of the top side of valve Si) is only about one-tenth the area of the head of piston 62, and since the spring 96 must be strong enough to create a pressure of approximately 30 lbs. per sq. in. on the lubricant in the upper end of piston 62J this spring pressure, acting first on the Valve 89 through the sleeve S2 and cylindrical body 84, readily forces the valve to open position.

When the spring 99 raises sleeve 92 into engagement with the piston 62 pressure is applied to the lubricant in the inlet side of the cylinder 6c so that this lubricant will be forced past open valve 86 through port T8, helical passage 85, and lateral port 88, into the discharge side of the cylinder to form the measured charge of lubricant which will be fed to the bearing by the next operation of the measuring valve. The upward travel of the piston 62 is arrested by seating of the upper conical portion 98 of the valve in port |65. In this manner all the pistons 62 in the measuring valves connected in the system will be returned to their initial position,

While there is shown and described hereinv certain structure illustrating the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby but may assume numerous other forms, and includes all modilcationa'variations and equivalents coming within the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

In a measuring valve for delivering measured charges of lubricant in response to intermittent inlet lubricant pressure, the combination of a cylinder providing a measuring chamber; an inlet conduit connected with one end of the measuring chamber; an outlet conduit containing a check valve and connected with the opposite end of the measuring chamber; a hollow piston reciprocable in the chamber by lubricant under pressure in a direction to discharge a measured charge of lubricant through the outlet conduit, the piston including a head having a by-pass port therein and a skirt extending toward the outlet end of the chamber, the chamber being variably divided by the piston into an inlet portion and an outlet portion; means to control communication between the inlet and outlet portions of the chamber through the by-pass port including a sleeve reciprocable in the piston skirt and having a head, an axially extending valve body carried by the sleeve head and having a cylindrical recess, a valve plug for closing theby-pass port mounted on a stem extending through the port and anchored in the recess, the plug having a small cross sectional area relative to the sleeve head, and

means forming a resistance passage through the valve body including a continuous helical groove in the cylindrical recess forming a helical passage dened by the groove and the stem; and a spring compressed between the outlet end of the chamber and the sleeve normally holding the valve plug in open position and effective when the valve plug is in open position to urge the piston to returned position, the sleeve head being of suciently large cross sectional area and the resistance of the resistance passageway being suflicient to cause the valve plug to move against the resistance of the spring in a direction to close the by-pass port when arrest of the discharge stroke of the piston causes pressure to build up in the inlet portion of the chamber, the spring applying suflicient force to the sleeve to open the valve plug against the pressure exerted thereon when the pressure in the inlet portion of the chamber is reduced to a value sulcient to cause lubricant to ow through the resistance passage but not sufficient to close the valve.

i ERNEST W. DAVIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

